''Ultimate Spinach'' is the 1968 self-titled debut

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band

Ultimate Spinach Ultimate Spinach was a short-lived American psychedelic rock band from Boston, Massachusetts which was formed in 1967. In terms of style and national recognition, the band was one of the most prominent musical acts to emerge from the "Bosstown S ...

, and was released on the

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

label (E/SE-4518) simultaneously with the debut LP of two other Boston-area bands,

Beacon Street Union The Beacon Street Union was an American psychedelic rock band in the late 1960s, named for a street in their native Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The band was composed of Boston College students, singer John Lincoln Wright (September 23, ...

and

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

. Both albums were heavily promoted by the label as being representative of the "

Bosstown Sound The Bosstown Sound (or Boston Sound) was the catchphrase of a marketing campaign to promote psychedelic rock and psychedelic pop bands in Boston, Massachusetts, in the late 1960s. The concept was conceived by the record producer Alan Lorber as a m ...

". The commercial ploy was heavily driven in psychedelic music that attempted to replicate the San Francisco Sound.

Background

Ian Bruce-Douglas composed all the songs, played several instruments, and sang lead for most of the tracks. Apart from its obvious references about the use of

psychedelic drug Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science o ...

s, ''Ultimate Spinach'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

based on abstract anti-war sentiment, in the context of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

that happened at that time. Lyrically, Bruce-Douglas' songs are subtle, pretty intricate and with an imaginary vision of life. One of the most notable characteristics is its experimental style, with "artifacts" and unusual recording techniques, among which stand out a variety of guitar sounds and distortions including fuzz,

echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the list ...

tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo. The first is a rapid reiteration: * Of a single Musical note, note, particularly used on String instrument#Bowing, bowed string instrument ...

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...

, volume control, and use of the

wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The p ...

. Each of those aspects were similar to the typical

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

psychedelic sound of the era. With the publicity backing them, the band toured with prominent musical acts like

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After some in ...

and

The Youngbloods The Youngbloods were an American rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young (vocals, bass, guitar), Jerry Corbitt (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Lowell "Banana" Levinger (guitar and electric piano), and Joe Bauer (drums). Despite recei ...

at significant venues like the Filmore Auditorium. Following their recording and initial tour, drummer Keith Lahtenein left the group to by replaced Russell Levine. Priscilla DiDonato was also added to the lineup at this time. The addition enabled the band to more closely recreate the overdubbed vocal harmonies in their debut album.

Reception

The album was Ultimate Spinach's most successful when it peaked at number 34 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

. In 2008, the album still retained its presence as a psychedelic classic when it was listed at number 36 on ''Classic Rock'' magazine's "42 Greatest Psychedelic Albums".

Track listing

All songs written by Ian Bruce-Douglas. ;LP Side A # "Ego Trip" – 3:13 # "Sacrifice of the Moon (in four parts)" – 3:45 # "Plastic Raincoats/Hung Up Minds" – 2:56 # "Ballad of the Hip Death Goddess" – 8:14 ;LP Side B # "Your Head Is Reeling" – 3:36 # "Dove in Hawk's Clothing" – 3:54 # "Baroque #1" – 4:48 # "Funny Freak Parade" – 2:35 # "Pamela" – 3:08

Personnel

*Ian Bruce-Douglas - vocals, guitar (acoustic and electric), 12-string bass, electric piano, organ, keyboards, sitar, vibraphone, theremin, recording *Barbara Jean Hudson - guitar (acoustic and electric), vocals *Keith Lahteinen - drums, percussion, vocals *Richard Nese - bass (acoustic and electric), feedback *Geoffrey Winthrop - guitar (acoustic and electric), feedback, sitar (acoustic and electric), vocals *Ted Myers - guitar, vocals

References

{{Authority control 1968 debut albums Ultimate Spinach albums MGM Records albums Concept albums